


Get You Right

by tasteofsummersnow



Series: In Love with the Salt of You [9]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aromantic Asexual Ushijima Wakatoshi, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Five years ago I might have tagged this as "Friendship & Love & everything in between", Fluff and Humor and Angst, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Multi, Non-traditional Relationship, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Multiple, Shirabu got more than he bargained for when he agreed to help out Ushijima, Slice of Life, TenShira: Pain in The Ass to Friends to Lovers, Tendou and Ushijima are Best Friends and Roommates, eventual queerplatonic UshiShira, eventual queerplatonic UshiTen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:34:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24959977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tasteofsummersnow/pseuds/tasteofsummersnow
Summary: “Tendou, when you said that the confessions would die down if I made up a boyfriend, how serious were you?”“I mean… there would definitely be less…”Wakatoshi-kun nods, a contemplative expression on his face.Oh boy…-Or: the one where it turns out that making up a fake boyfriend has consequences when you're the up and coming sweetheart of the volleyball world. Good thing Shirabu is happy(-ish) to do his senpai a favour and Tendou is there to lend a helping hand
Relationships: Shirabu Kenjirou/Tendou Satori, Shirabu Kenjirou/Tendou Satori/Ushijima Wakatoshi, Shirabu Kenjirou/Ushijima Wakatoshi, Tendou Satori/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Series: In Love with the Salt of You [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1532384
Comments: 15
Kudos: 37
Collections: Shiratorizawa Fanweek 2020





	1. in which Ushijima slams a door and Tendou has an idea

**Author's Note:**

> Shiratorizawa Fanweek offered an incentive for finally finishing the first chapters of this fic that I've wanted to write for almost a year now, so thank you so much to [@AllMyCharactersAreGay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllMyCharactersAreGay/pseuds/AllMyCharactersAreGay) and [@kaashiboo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaashiboo/) for organising it! Leah, kaashi, you're the best!! ✨💙💙 
> 
> Now, this fic started out as UshiShira, but after writing the first chapter I couldn't let go of the idea of UshiTen. In the end, a friend asked me why I wouldn't just go for UshiTenShira, and suddenly, my attitude towards this fic changed from "yeah, I'd have fun writing this" to "!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited to write this!!!!!", so here we are!! ✨
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it!! 🎈✨

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **content warning** : a mention of bullying and animal abuse, if you want to avoid it, just skip the paragraph after "But Satori is not sure if people who accidentally turn their best friend into the school’s number one gossip topic are still deserving of that treatment."! Stay safe, friends!

“I am back,” Wakatoshi announces, closing the door to his and Tendou’s room with a bit more force than strictly speaking necessary.

“My, my, my, slamming doors now, Wakatoshi-kun? What has become of you?” Tendou asks in an overly dramatic tone that Wakatoshi has come to learn means he’s probably joking. But that doesn’t stop him from seizing Wakatoshi up in a way usually reserved for his opponents on the volleyball court. Wakatoshi would never say so out loud, but it is vaguely unsettling.

“I am not slamming doors,” he lies. 

It’s the wrong thing to say because Tendou, who had previously been lounging on his bed with the newest issue of Shonen Jump, suddenly sits up straight, staring at Wakatoshi as a too-knowing smile makes its way onto his face.

“First rule of lying, Wakatoshi-kun: don’t do it if you’re bad at it. Which you are. Very much so. Now tell me, what has you slamming doors?”

“You slam them at least five times a week,” Wakatoshi answers a little petulantly, “and you said it yourself that you do not always have a reason for it. Maybe I just felt like being… dramatic…” The sentence feels very, very wrong on Wakatoshi’s lips.

Tendou cackles at him. “You’re really the world’s worst liar, Wakatoshi-kun. Now stop trying to make up excuses neither of us will believe anyways and tell me what’s wrong, I’m curious as to what could irk the great Ushijima Wakatoshi into slamming doors.”

Wakatoshi sets down his backpack with a sigh and sits down at his desk. “A girl confessed to me today,” he says more to his hands than to Tendou.

“Oooh, was she cute? Did you say yes? Does Wakatoshi-kun have a girlfriend now?”

Wakatoshi looks up to level Tendou an unimpressed look. “I did not even know her name. Of course, I did not say yes.”

Tendou laughs. “Yes, that sounds like something you would do. But anyways, how does that tie in with you slamming doors?”

Wakatoshi frowns. “It was very uncomfortable, and I wish I did not have to deal with that.”

“Jeez, I hope you didn’t tell her that, Wakatoshi-kun, that would have broken her heart,” Tendou cackles.

“I did not. I told her that I could not return her feelings because I am concentrating on volleyball.”

“Wow, look at you, handling that like a grown-up. Impressive, Wakatoshi-kun!”

“She cried, Tendou.”

“Urgh, that’s awkward…”

“Yes.”

“But hey, you handled it well for your first confession, I hear Hayato made fingerguns at his first. Needless to say, she did not think he was cool anymore after that.”

Wakatoshi frowns. “It was not the first.”

“Pretty sure it was, Hayato told me about–– wait a moment, you mean yours, don’t you? It wasn’t the first?! Wakatoshi-kun, you’ve been holding out on me,” Tendou says, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

“I am… sorry?” Wakatoshi offers, not quite sure if it is what Tendou wants to hear. “I was not aware we were at the level of our friendship where we talk about these things. After all, you have never mentioned a confession yourself…”

Tendou squawks and then he flops down on his bed. “Nice kill, Wakatoshi-kun, nice kill.”

It is what Tendou has taken to saying whenever Wakatoshi accidentally says something that others might consider upsetting. Wakatoshi is not quite sure what he did wrong in this case, so he waits for Tendou to stop playing dead and to explain.

Finally, Tendou sits up again, shaking his head. “Dude, I’m not telling you about confessions I got because I haven’t gotten any yet.”

“I … do not understand. The girls who confess to me always say that they like how dedicated I am to volleyball and what a good player I am. The same is true about you. Why would they not confess to you?”

“Bless your heart, Wakatoshi-kun. I’m not the one who is going to be a world star athlete one day, and also if that doesn’t work out for you, you could always become a model. Me? Not so much…”

“I see…” Wakatoshi says, even though he doesn’t really.

“This is the part where you’d tell me 'What are you talking about, Tendou, you could totally become a model',” Tendou explains.

“I had no idea you had aspirations to become a model, Tendou. But I am sure that if you work hard, you will succeed.”

Tendou cackles. “See? This is why you’re my favorite, Wakatoshi-kun!! But anyways, back to the problem at hand: why did this confession bother you enough to make you slam doors? That is very unlike you and I am a bit concerned…”

Wakatoshi thinks that Tendou still mostly looks curious, but he doesn’t point it out.

“This was the third confession in a week. It is just… it is very distracting and uncomfortable, and I do not understand why they keep telling me that they are in love with me when we have never talked before. As I understand it, in order to love someone, you need to know them well enough to know their flaws and appreciate them all the same. By saying they are in love with me even though they do not know me, they are making light of that…”

“Ooh, Wakatoshi-kun, I would never have pegged you as a romantic.”

Wakatoshi frowns. “I am?” 

Tendou shrugs. “More so than me, in any case. I wouldn’t have said no to a cute girlfriend. Or boyfriend. Or datefriend. But alas, they all want you. Such is the curse of the best friend of the main character.”

“I am not sure I understand.”

“That’s okay, I’m just joking anyways. So, what are you going to do about the confession problem?”

“I do not know. I do not want to hurt anyone’s feelings but if it were possible, I would rather not have to deal with this anymore…”

Tendou thinks about it for a second, then he says: “You could always tell them you already have a girlfriend. No, wait, better yet: tell them you have a boyfriend!”

“Pardon?”

“You see… if you tell them you have a girlfriend, they might get jealous and try even harder. But if you tell them you have a _boyfriend_ , they’ll coo over it and back off. Girls like it when boys like boys, you know?”

Wakatoshi decidedly does not know. “I do not think this is a good idea, Tendou.”

Tendou laughs. “What, no, nonsense, Wakatoshi-kun, it’s brilliant! I should make a manga about that, I bet it would sell like crazy!!” He gets up and rummages through the mess on his desk until he finds the red notebook, the one that holds all his story ideas. He starts scrawling something down, muttering to himself.

Wakatoshi watches him, thinking. On the one hand, he dislikes dishonesty and, as Tendou has pointed out, he is not at all a good liar. But on the other hand, Tendou seems convinced that this is a good idea and Tendou is very good at social interactions.

Maybe Wakatoshi should give this a shot.

\---

Satori has just decided that, yes, the 10-minutes-break between classes is in fact long enough to sneak into Semi-Semi’s classroom next door and pester him into sharing some of the cookies he had shown off at lunch, when a gaggle of girls marches up to his desk.

That is only unusual insofar as girls do not walk up to Satori’s desk. Ever.

“Tendou-kun, we have a question…” Gion-san, the leader of the group, states. The rest of the girls are giggling and whispering among each other, and Satori notices that some of them aren’t even from his class. He has a bad feeling about this.

“Yes?”

“Is it true that Wakatoshi-kun has a boyfriend?”

Satori was wrong. 

This is not bad.

It’s worse.

He is so screwed.

Later, when he makes his way back to his and Wakatoshi-kun’s shared dorm room after his last class of the day, there’s a constant stream of “ _oh shit_ ” running through Satori’s mind.

When he told Wakatoshi-kun that he should just say he had a boyfriend a week ago, he had been joking. Very much so.

But apparently, Wakatoshi-kun hadn’t gotten that memo. 

It wouldn’t be the first time that happened, but over the years, Satori has gotten good at pointing out when he was serious and when not to his best friend. 

But this time, he royally fucked up.

He had gotten distracted because making up a fake boyfriend was a brilliant idea. For a manga. In real life? Not so much.

Satori wonders if Wakatoshi-kun is going to be mad at him. 

It has never happened before even though, according to Semi-Semi, Satori is the most irritating person to ever walk the earth. And most people would agree with Semi-Semi on that, but not Wakatoshi-kun. He has always taken Satori exactly the way he is, and through all the times Satori messed up over the years or put his foot in it, Wakatoshi-kun has always remained calm and patient.

But Satori is not sure if people who accidentally turn their best friend into the school’s number one gossip topic are still deserving of that treatment.

In the three years they have been roommates and friends, Satori has seen Wakatoshi-kun angry only twice: one time, when they saw someone hitting their dog on one of their practice runs, and one time when he found out some kids were bullying Tsutomu. 

Satori wouldn’t wish Wakatoshi-kun’s cold, steady anger upon his worst enemy. Or maybe he would, depending on who his worst enemy was. But the point is that an angry Wakatoshi-kun is positively terrifying and Satori is not sure how he could survive if that anger was directed at him.

If Wakatoshi-kun is angry at him, at least practice will start in thirty minutes. There is only so much damage he can do in that time. Or so Satori tells himself as he opens the door to their room.

As expected, Wakatoshi-kun is already there.

He doesn’t look angry. No, if anything, he looks confused. There is the tell-tale frown on his face.

“Tendou…” he begins. 

For once, Satori decides to let him take the lead of the conversation.

“Yeah?” he offers as he drops off his backpack and begins piling his notebooks onto his already cluttered desk.

“I implemented your advice about inventing a fake boyfriend today. There were some… unexpected side effects.”

The word ‘advice’ makes Satori flinch. 

With anyone else, this would be easy, Satori would laugh at them and they would be annoyed until they started laughing, too. But this is Wakatoshi-kun. Time to fess up.

“Listen, 'toshi-kun, I… that was not so much advice as it was a joke. I’m sorry I didn’t make that clearer.”

“Oh… I see…”

Satori winces. “How bad was it today?”

Wakatoshi-kun’s frown deepens as he thinks about it. “I would not say it was bad per say. It was just… there was a lot of giggling and whispering and staring and a couple of questions…”

Satori snorts. “Usually, when people say, 'it wasn’t that bad' they don’t look like they’re biting into a lemon, Wakatoshi-kun.”

“I apologize.”

“Nah, you’re good. I’m the one who’s sorry. Didn’t mean to make you the number one topic of the school gossip. Just tell them you were joking, and it should blow over in a week or two. And until then I’ll share my desserts with you every lunch, what do you say?”

Wakatoshi-kun does not say anything, but the frown doesn’t leave his face.

“Oh, right, you’re not that big on sweets, hm… I would offer to help you with your homework but that might not be a good idea… Or I could–“

“Tendou,” Wakatoshi-kun interrupts him, very uncharacteristically. His expression is indecipherable. Sometimes Satori thinks, he would simultaneously make the world’s best and worst poker player. 

“Yeah?”

“When you said that the confessions would die down if I made up a boyfriend, how serious were you?”

_Oh boy…_

“I mean… there would definitely be less…” 

Wakatoshi-kun nods, a contemplative expression on his face.

Satori can’t believe what he’s seeing. Is Wakatoshi-kun – honest, straight-forward Wakatoshi-kun who can’t tell a lie to save his life – really considering making up a fake boyfriend.

“Say, Wakatoshi-kun… just how bad were those confessions you had to deal with really?”

A small smile makes its way onto Wakatoshi-kun’s lips. “I slammed a door, did I not?”

Satori snorts out a laugh. “And people think you’re not funny. They’re all missing out, dude. But… are you really sure you want to do this?”

Wakatoshi-kun nods once, decidedly.

A small part of Satori is yelling at him to make sure Wakatoshi-kun knows what he is walking into with this one. The much bigger part is throwing a party because making up a fake boyfriend with his best friend and trolling the entire school is going to be _fun_. 

He rubs his hands together. “Now then, let our mission “Operation: Fake Boyfriend” begin! … I think we need to get the basics down first, right? So, where did you meet boyfriend-kun?”

“At school,” Wakatoshi-kun says without missing a beat.

“Nah, no way! That is a) booooring and b) a very bad idea because then everyone will try to find out who it is. We absolutely can’t go with that! Nope, it needs to be someone that no one here ever could have met. I mean, of course they couldn’t have because boyfriend-kun doesn’t exist but–“ Satori stops his rambling when he notices the expression on Wakatoshi-kun’s face.

“Oh, Wakatoshi-kun, please tell me you didn’t…”

“Someone asked me if he went to our school. Considering that I spend most of my time here and I do not regularly meet people outside of school, I assumed that it would be most logical to say yes.”

“I mean… if you put it like this it does sound logical...” Satori has to admit. He just doubts that in this case ‘logical’ is going to work in their favor. Shiratorizawa’s gossip mill is not going to stop running until the secret around the identity of Ushijima Wakatoshi’s supposed boyfriend is lifted. Satori is picturing group chats and betting pools and a myriad of too-personal questions.

“Did I hinder our… mission in saying so?”

“You called it a mission!!” Satori exclaims before he can stop himself. Right, priorities. He clears his throat. “I mean… Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s going to be fine!”  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A friend of mine once asked what possible reason one could have to end up needing a fake-relationship. I think the answer she got was something along the lines of "weddings and stuff, it's usually a bit flimsy, but that's part of the charm!". Well, here we go, "fake-dating in order to avoid awkward confessions", it doesn't get flimsier than this, but that's okay, right? ✨💙


	2. in which the adults get involved

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being a bit angstier than I originally intended tbh ~~I feel like I'm doing "a dash of angst" the same way the vine-lady does "two shots of vodka"~~ 😌 but after this one, things should take a turn towards light-hearted fluff again!!
> 
>  **content warning** : referenced homophobia; toxic parent-child-relationships  
> \- this chapter deals with homophobia in the world of professional sports, which will be a recurring theme in this fic. At this point, I also want to point out that I am not from Japan and not involved in sports professionally. I don't plan on portraying these things without any research but at the same time, there is only so much research I can do without speaking Japanese, and I make no claims that I'm offering an accurate portrayal of how homophobia plays out in professional volleyball in Japan. This is entirely a work of fiction and has no claims to be anything other than that.  
> \- the relationship between Wakatoshi and his mother isn't particularly healthy at the beginning of this fic, because his mother is more focused on Wakatoshi as an athlete than Wakatoshi as her son.
> 
> Stay safe, friends, and if there is something else you feel I should be tagging, please don't hesitate to let me know!

Wakatoshi is not sure what exactly Tendou meant when he said “it’s going to be fine” but he can only imagine that it was not this. 

It is not unusual for their practice to have a handful of spectators. But today, the stands are packed. There are more people here than there usually are for their early games at the prefecturals. 

And as soon as Tendou and Wakatoshi enter the gym, there is a surge of giggles and squeals.

Wakatoshi is used to attention and well-practiced at ignoring it but the stares feel particularly heavy today. Maybe this is a mistake after all.

Before he can ask Tendou for his opinion, Yamagata, Semi and Oohira make their way towards them.

“Quite the fan club you have there, Wakatoshi,” Yamagata laughs. “Who knew secret boyfriends were much more efficient than cookie sales for winning fans, huh?”

“You have to pay for cookies, but gossip is free, I suppose,” says Oohira.

There is a lull in the conversation. Yamagata and Semi are looking at Wakatoshi almost expectantly. Their gazes wander to Tendou and then back to him.

“So, are you going to tell us who it is?” Semi finally asks.

“Eita!”

“Oh, come on, Reon, you want to know just as badly as we do.”

“Maybe, but that doesn’t give us the right to pry. It’s Wakatoshi’s business whom he decides to tell.”

“Well, yeah, obviously, but he can always say that he doesn’t want to tell us, right? Asking never hurt anyone and—”

Their squabbles are interrupted by a sharp “Wakatoshi!”. Washijou-san has just entered the gym and is staring at the stands with barely contained disapproval.

“Oh boy… Good luck explaining this one…” Yamagata says, giving him a pat on the back.

“Oho, we’ll finally find out who’d win: Tanji-san’s all-time favorite Ushijima Wakatoshi or his hatred for all things fun?”

“Satori, kindly shut up, will you?” Semi scolds, shooting Wakatoshi a worried look.

“It is all right,” he says, and makes his way over to their coach.

“Wakatoshi, pray tell, what is this… ruckus about?” Washijou-san asks, his eyes still trained on the stands.

“I believe they are here because… they are curious who my… boyfriend is, sir,” Wakatoshi explains. Saying the words out loud somehow makes the situation feel even more absurd than it already did. 

Washijou-san’s head whips around to him. For a long moment, he doesn’t say anything, then: “Boyfriend… I see… Wakatoshi, please come see me about this in my office after practice. And don’t worry, I’ll make sure that tomorrow, we can practice again in peace.”

“Yes, sir, thank you.”

“Now go, start the warm-ups. Maybe all those giggling girls will at least motivate some of your teammates to work harder than usual.”

\---

They say eavesdropping is bad but if that really was the case why wouldn’t they make more soundproof doors?

After practice is over, Satori insists on accompanying Wakatoshi-kun to Tanji-san’s office, in order to avoid their nosy teammates. They more or less behaved under Tanji-san’s watchful eyes, but during the water breaks, with Reon-kun and Wakatoshi-kun out of earshot, firing questions at Satori was apparently fair game, Semi-Semi going even so far as asking him if _Satori_ was Wakatoshi-kun’s boyfriend. There is only so much eyebrow wiggling and giving evasive answers Satori can get away with, so he decides that it’s safer to avoid the changing-room-slash-gossip-den until “Operation: Fake-Boyfriend” has more of a game plan.

He knows better than to hope that Tanji-san will let him sit in on the meeting, even though Wakatoshi-kun said that he didn’t care either way, so now Satori is leaning against the wall next to the door and, yes, eavesdropping.

In his defense, it’s only about 40% out of curiosity and the other 60% out of concern for their mission and future approach to the situation. Satori needs this information and while Wakatoshi-kun is usually accurate with re-telling conversations, certain nuances of what’s being said fly right over his head.

The first part of the conversation is dedicated to how Wakatoshi-kun’s receives needed improving (even though Wakatoshi-kun is currently the starting member’s second-best receiver, maybe tied with Reon-kun, and surpassed only by Hayato-kun), and then there is a part Satori misses because the track and field club’s coach comes down the hallway and asks Satori what he’s doing here and, when Satori tells her he’s just waiting for a friend, tries to recruit him for her club.

Convincing her that Satori does not, in fact, want to become a high jumper takes some time, and she only lets it go once he promises that he will at least think it over. But by the time she leaves, he has missed a big chunk of the conversation in Tanji-san’s office.

“—doubt anyone on the team is going to give you a hard time over this, but if they do, send them my way, understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. And Wakatoshi? Your agent called.”

“I see.”

Satori will never get over the fact that Tanji-san and Wakatoshi-kun exclusively refer to her as Wakatoshi-kun’s agent when she is also his mother. Then again, she _did_ call Tanji-san instead of asking Wakatoshi-kun directly.

“She is arranging an interview with Maruyama-san from Sports Weekly. They’ve been asking for an interview for a while now, they’re a serious newspaper and fairly liberal, and Maruyama has a reputation for sticking to the submitted questions. We’ll make sure that the interview primarily focuses on Spring High and what you plan to do after graduating. The boyfriend will be addressed, of course, but we want to concentrate on your athletic career and not your love life. We’ll try to get the news out with as little drama as possible.”

In his eleven years of playing the sport, Satori has been hit in the face by his fair share of volleyballs, at least three of them courtesy of Wakatoshi-kun himself.

This somehow feels exactly like that. 

He never once stopped to consider what consequences all of this could have on Wakatoshi-kun’s future. Shiratorizawa is liberal enough and its zero-tolerance policy is strictly reinforced, and for any other guy in their year, having a boyfriend wouldn’t be a big deal. But, in a way, Wakatoshi-kun is already more than just a high school student and having a boyfriend could severely affect his career.

And Satori didn’t think about this for even one second.

He is not only an idiot, he’s a horrible, horrible friend.

He hears Wakatoshi-kun’s, “yes, sir”, but he can’t tell from the tone if Wakatoshi-kun is surprised by what Tanji-san just said. Or angry. This time, there is no way he isn’t going to be angry.

Because Satori messed up volleyball for him. Volleyball. The one thing Wakatoshi-kun loves more than anything else in this world.

He takes a step back from the door, and then another, until he can’t hear what’s being said in Tanji-san’s office anymore.

Satori really has meddled enough.

\---

“ –yfriend will be addressed, of course, but we want to concentrate on your athletic career and not your love life. We’ll try to get the news out with as little drama as possible,” Washijou-san explains.

Wakatoshi frowns. He has been confronted with a side of volleyball today, that he has never given much thought before. He does not like it. “Yes, sir,” he still replies. He trusts Washijou-san and his agent to know best when it comes to these things.

“Wakatoshi, I… I’m sorry to do this but I have to ask…” Washijou-san adds. And then he hesitates. Wakatoshi’s frown deepens. He has never seen Washijou-san hesitate before. “Are you… are you sure you want to go through with this? It’s not too late to claim that all of this was nothing but a rumor. You could… you could keep dating your boyfriend in secret, and maybe we could find someone to play your girlfriend for the media… I know this is far from ideal, but maybe you should consider it… I… I can’t guarantee that some of the clubs you currently have offers from aren’t going to pull them back, Wakatoshi…”

When he finishes, Washijou-san isn’t looking at Wakatoshi anymore. His gaze is fixed on his hands that he has folded on the desk. Wakatoshi has never seen his coach like this.

He thinks about what has been said for a minute. He even thinks about telling Washijou-san that he does not actually have a boyfriend. But then, he simply says, “no”.

Washijou-san looks up at him. “I see. Are you sure about this, Wakatoshi? It isn’t going to be easy.”

Wakatoshi nods once. “I am sure. If a team that previously thought I would be able to help them win pulls back their offer for the sole reason that I have a boyfriend, then said team does not have an attitude towards winning that I can get behind.”

Washijou-san just looks at him for a moment, then a small smile makes its way onto his lips. “Good. If that is your decision, then I will stand behind it and do my best to support you, Wakatoshi.” 

“Thank you, sir.”

“Of course. Now go, get some rest. They announced that tomorrow will be one of the hottest days of the year, but that does not mean I will go easy on you.”

“Of course not, sir.” Wakatoshi gets up from his chair. “Good night, sir.” 

“Good night, Wakatoshi.”

Wakatoshi’s hand is already on the door handle when Washijou-san clears his throat. “Oh, and Wakatoshi? I’m happy for you.”

Wakatoshi smiles. “Thank you, sir.” And with that, he leaves Washijou-san’s office.

He finds Tendou sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, his arms wrapped around his knees. He doesn’t look up until Wakatoshi is standing right in front of him and says, “thank you for waiting for me, Tendou.”

When he finally does look up, there is no trace of the smile that he usually greets Wakatoshi with.

Wakatoshi frowns. In the three years they have been friends, he has come to learn that when Tendou doesn’t smile at him upon first seeing him, there is a good chance something is wrong.

That’s why he asks, “are you all right?” and offers Tendou a hand to help him get up.

Tendou swallows. “Yeah, I’m good.” Then he takes Wakatoshi’s hand and lets himself be pulled up. 

“Good.”

They make their way through the building and towards the dorms in silence, when Tendou suddenly stops dead in his tracks. 

“I lied, ‘toshi-kun, I’m not good. I’m… I’m so sorry.”

Wakatoshi frowns and waits for Tendou to explain, because he does not understand what he is apologizing for.

But Tendou doesn’t. He isn’t even looking at Wakatoshi, and keeps his gaze fixed on the ground instead. 

The silence stretches, Tendou looking at his feet, and Wakatoshi trying to figure out what the apology is for.

Finally, Tendou says, “please, Wakatoshi-kun, just say something.”

“I do not understand why you are apologizing.”

Tendou huffs out a laugh, but it doesn’t sound like his usual one. “For everything, Wakatoshi-kun. For messing up your career and your dream. For being a horrible friend.”

“I still do not understand.”

“I eavesdropped, ‘toshi-kun. I heard everything Tanji-san said. I know.”

“Know what? And while eavesdropping is generally frowned upon, I do not believe it warrants an apology such as this. I did say that I would let you sit in on the conversation after all.”

“What?”

“I am not mad at you for eavesdropping, Tendou. I accept your apology.”

“What? But that’s not… Aren’t you upset about… I… Wakatoshi-kun, what exactly did Tanji-san tell you?”

Wakatoshi frowns because those were a lot of unfinished sentences. “If you eavesdropped, would you not already know what he said?”

“Yeah, but please, do me a favor, okay?” Tendou insists.

“Okay. We talked about my receiving and that it needs improving. Then we talked about how we could improve the team’s blocking in general. After that, we talked about suspending the afternoon run during August and replacing it with indoor endurance training instead, in order to avoid too much exposure to the sun. Then we talked about the interview I am going to give for Sports Weekly. And then he said that some teams might retract their offer when they hear that I have a boyfriend, and I said that a team which values who I am dating over my skills and how I could help them achieve victory is not a team I want to be playing on. And then we said goodbye.”

"You... you really said that thing about not wanting to play for a team that wouldn't sign you for having a boyfriend?"

"Yes." Wakatoshi is not sure why Tendou, who claims to have eavesdropped, seems to have trouble believing this.

"And you _meant_ it?"

"Yes." Why would he say something if he didn't mean it?

Tendou looks at him for a long moment. “So, you’re really not mad at me, then?” he asks.

Wakatoshi frowns. “I still do not know why you think I would be mad at you, but no, I am not.”

“What have I ever done to deserve you, ‘toshi-kun? You really are the best, you know that?” Tendou is looking at him in a way that Wakatoshi can’t quite read, but before he can ask what brought on this sentiment his phone starts ringing. 

He has a good idea about who it might be. 

He looks at Tendou who nods at him that it’s okay to pick up. So, he takes it out of the side pocket of his bag and picks it up, and before he can say so much as hello, his mother is already talking.

“Finally! I’ve been trying to reach you all evening.” She is all but yelling into the receiver, and in the background Wakatoshi can hear Ryoichi and Emiko, his half-siblings, causing a commotion. He holds the phone a bit away from his ear.

“I had practice, I am sorry, mother.”

“I’m not calling as your mother, Wakatoshi, and I think you know that.”

He can see Tendou flinch and wonders if a mosquito just bit him, they’re vicious this time of the year. Wakatoshi still has some anti-itch cream he can offer Tendou when they get back to their room. 

“Yes,” he tells his mother.

“So, are you going to explain why I had to hear from your _cousin_ that you have a boyfriend now?”

“I am sorry, mother. I did not think—”

“Yes, clearly, you didn’t. What did I always tell you? Concentrate on volleyball and school. You don’t have time for a girlfriend. And a _boyfriend_ , Wakatoshi?! Do you know how bad this is going to be for your career? And you didn’t even call to tell me! What if Sayuri-chan hadn’t told me? Would you have waited until I found out from the press? I’m your agent, Wakatoshi. How am I supposed to manage these things if you don’t tell me?”

“I’m sorry, I—”

“It’s a little too late for apologies now, isn’t it? The cat is out of the bag and you better believe that the press is going to get wind of this sooner rather than later. We need to break this news on our terms. I’m arranging an interview with Sports Weekly. If all goes well, we might get it in the issue two weeks from now.”

“Yes, Washijou-san told me.”

“Good. What else did he say? I told him to call me back, but so far, he hasn’t.”

“Not much.” 

“I will have to ask him about how he thinks this will influence the offers you already have. It would be such a shame if the Storks retracted their offer.”

“Yes.”

“And Wakatoshi? I will have to meet that boyfriend of yours at some point. We will have to go over how he must act regarding the press. I know the big onslaught will only come when you make it to Nationals, but there might be some even before that and it is crucial that he knows how to behave. How soon do you think we could set up a call? Would this Saturday after practice work?”

“I—”

“Ryuichi stop pulling Emiko’s hair!” his mother yells at Wakatoshi’s brother, then, she says into the phone, “I have to go, Wakatoshi. Don’t forget to call me this Saturday.” And with that, she hangs up.

For a moment, all Wakatoshi can do is stare at his phone. Then, he turns to Tendou and says, “I believe I need to find a fake boyfriend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know, two chapters in and Shirabu has yet to make an appearance hjdfhj you'll get to see him next chapter, I promise!! ✨ 
> 
> Speaking of "next chapter", I know myself well enough to know that an updating schedule would be useless to me, but the good news for you is that rn, I'm hyped to be writing this fic, so you'll probably get an update sooner rather than later!
> 
> Until then, take care and thanks for reading!! ✨🎈

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language, so you're always more than welcome to point out any mistakes!! ✨
> 
> Hmu on [tumblr](https://tasteofsummersnow.tumblr.com/) if you feel like talking about Haikyuu!!, what the best type of fruit pie is, how cute ducklings are, or literally anything else!


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